This Day In History: Construction of the Hoover Dam Began

On this day in history on July 7th 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam began. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men produced what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

Today, the Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the country and the 18th highest in the world. It generates enough energy each year to serve over a million people, and stands, in Hoover Dam artist Oskar Hansen’s words, as “a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal.”